


Little Bit

by nauticalparamour



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Pining, Sentient Grimmauld Place, Time Travel, fake engagement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-05
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:20:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28406892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nauticalparamour/pseuds/nauticalparamour
Summary: A Christmas short story. Sirius, back from the veil, wants different things in life, like a wife and a family. When he tries to play a practical joke on his mother's portrait involving Hermione and a bit of Black family jewelry, he gets more than he bargained for! Sirius/Hermione.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Hermione Granger
Comments: 12
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This has been edited for clarity and grammar as of December 2020. Having given it a second read, I do think this story might be better served as a longer story, but I'm keeping it as is for now. But maybe next time I edit it...The story is inspired by the song Little Bit by Lykke Li. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been edited for clarity and grammar as of December 2020. Having given it a second read, I do think this story might be better served as a longer story, but I'm keeping it as is for now. But maybe next time I edit it...The story is inspired by the song Little Bit by Lykke Li. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour).
> 
> Little Bit was first published to ffnet in December 2015.

Christmas had descended on Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.

It was the first Christmas after the war had ended and it felt like everyone wanted to be done with the mourning. They wanted to celebrate to their heart's content, shedding the sadness and death that had shrouded them for the previous year. It was a complete one-eighty to the Christmas before, when Hermione and Harry had gone to Godric's Hollow and been attacked by Nagini. That felt like ages ago.

So much had changed since then.

Hermione had accepted Harry's offer to move into Grimmauld Place with him. They had immediately begun the process of redecorating and repairing the old townhouse to make it more inviting and to exorcise the bad memories. Once the rooms were habitable again, Teddy Lupin began spending more time with his godfather; It turned out that raising a child was too much for Andromeda, especially after losing her husband and only daughter.

The biggest change over the last year was that Sirius Black had returned from the veil. Apparently, when Bellatrix had been killed, he came tumbling back out of the other side. The Unspeakables had been absolutely shocked to see him again. After a quick stint at St. Mungo's to be tested on, he was released to go home, assured that Harry had been notified.

That night would be burned into Hermione's memory for the rest of her life.

Hermione had taken over Sirius's room when she moved into the Grimmauld Place because she wanted to give Harry and Ginny as much privacy as possible. She had been snoozing peacefully in her bed, completely unaware that she was about to have a midnight guest.

Sirius would later explain that he thought Harry had found him a woman to spend the night with since he'd been in the veil for so long.

But, it was Hermione that he had slipped into bed with, cupping one of her breasts and giving her arse a squeeze.

Hermione had started screaming bloody murder, never having been woken up like _that_. Her shouting had woken up baby Teddy who was in the bassinet next to her bed. When he had started to wail at full pitch Hermione quickly focused on soothing him.

It seemed that was the first time Sirius had realized that she was actually none other than Hermione Granger, previously known to him as a swotty sixteen-year-old who argued with him about house-elves. He had been utterly confused that she would have a baby and quietly asked, "Whose...?"

Since she had gotten her bearings, Hermione gave him a small smile and told him the name of the child's father. "Remus," she had whispered, giving tiny Teddy a kiss on the crown of his head, currently topped with Hermione's curly brown hair.

Sirius, obviously assuming that Remus had fathered a baby with her, had looked temporarily impressed. "I didn't know he had it in him, since you were his student at all," he had said, sounding surprised. "Nice one, Moony," he had added, almost to himself.

Before Hermione had been able to correct him, Harry had burst through the door with his wand at the ready. After ascertaining that Hermione was okay, his eyes had settled on Sirius. "Sirius?" he had asked, genuinely stunned.

Sirius had also been overwhelmed at the sight of his godson. "Oh Harry, you've grown so much!" Sirius had said, tinged with sadness at the time he'd lost.

Hermione had felt like she was intruding on a very private moment and had tried to focus her attention on Teddy.

"What was the commotion about?" Harry had asked, looking between the two of them.

"I don't think Sirius was expecting anyone to be in his bed," Hermione had said, giving the older wizard an out. She hadn't been sure what Harry would think if he heard what Sirius had done to her. "It just gave me and Teddy a bit of a fright. Sirius, this is Teddy - he is Remus and Tonk's son," she had explained, embarrassed that Sirius had thought she and Professor Lupin had been intimate.

The memory of her reintroduction to Sirius made her blush, even all these months later.

Since that night, Sirius had decided to stay at Grimmauld Place at Harry's request. Hermione was surprised that he would want to stay there at all when it seemed that the townhome had been essentially a prison to him his whole life. She had given his room back to him and instead moved into the room across the hall.

Hermione hadn't known what to expect when he first moved in. When she had known Sirius last, he had been a bitter and paranoid, likely depressed, man. Harry was the only thing that made him even remotely happy and he would frequently reminisce about the old days with Harry's father, stuck in a past that didn't exist anymore. She and the reclusive owner of Grimmauld Place had spent most of their time arguing.

But this time...a lot of things about Sirius had changed. Most notice was his new lust for life. Having spent time effectively dead, he appreciated each and every day so much more and it gave him a newfound appreciation for what he had.

It was attractive to her.

Honestly, Sirius was always attractive to Hermione, even if she would never admit it. With his perfect nose and cheekbones, piercing, mercurial gray eyes and wavy, dark hair, he cut quite the dashing figure. What was not to like?

Only, sometime between August and December, he had gone from attractive man to wizard that Hermione had fallen irrevocably in love with.

It was embarrassing, really.

She didn't have anyone to talk about it with, as it seemed way too scandalous. Sirius was a bit older than her, but Hermione had always been mature for her age. Perhaps she could talk with Ginny, but she was too in love with Harry to focus on Hermione's love life. Not to mention, Ginny was still certain that Hermione and Ron belonged together (despite Ron very happily dating Lavender Brown again).

So, she suffered with her feelings in silence.

Sirius was everything she could want in a man, really. He was intelligent, brave and had a strong sense of self. He would purposefully rile her up, goading her into arguments that would leave her blood boiling. He could hold his ground on basically any topic that she came up with. And he was so passionate about mundane topics that Hermione couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be the attention of his passion.

They could spend hours in the library in the evenings, debating a variety of topics. But it wasn't as if all they did _was_ argue. Sometimes he would just read with her, sharing the little couch nearest to the fireplace. And, he'd been known to join her as Padfoot, curled up into a tight call next to her while she scratched behind his ears absentmindedly.

He could be so thoughtful, too. Sirius remembered little things about her, like what her favorite flower was. It seemed it was his mission to fill Grimmauld Place with tiny little geraniums after she'd told him how much she liked them. For her birthday, she'd received a planner with her initials embroidered into the buttery soft leather from him. And, he was such a good help with baby Teddy, sharing funny stories from when Harry was a baby.

And did she mention how attractive she found him? He was tall, dark and handsome personified.

She hadn't actually realized that she was _in love_ with him until Harry and Ginny's engagement party. Almost all of their acquaintances were in relationships that it seemed natural for them to pair up with each other.

Sirius was dutiful, asking her to dance again and again. Hermione had practically melted against him as he held her body against his. The feel of his body heat bleeding through their clothing would be burned into her memory forever. His hand had even dipped low on her back - high enough to be appropriate, but low enough to hint at something more.

Hermione found herself swept off of her feet as he asked her questions about work and _did she read the new Transfiguration Quarterly_ _yet_ , and what did she think about the new law increasing punishments for Muggleborn related prejudice. He listened to all of her answers, laughing at her dry humor, never once seeming exasperated with her wordiness. Instead, his gray eyes rarely left her face, as if he were trying to commit each freckle to memory.

It had been _perfect_.

Until Ron had come up to them and burst her bubble. He reminded Hermione that Sirius could never want her, and was merely being a nice little chaperone to keep her occupied while Harry and Ron were with their significant others. "Thanks for looking after Hermione. Now that Harry and I are attached, we can't be filling her dance card. I'd hate to see her all by herself," he said with a big smile and a pat on Sirius's back.

Hermione almost couldn't look at Sirius's face, not wanting to see a hint of his guilt in this scenario. Her heart was already plummeting, wondering how she'd thought that she and Sirius Black could work out with one another. "It's no problem to spend the evening with such a beautiful witch," he'd said.

She was gutted and left the party shortly after, not bothering to stop when Sirius called after her. It hurt too much to know that he'd only entertained her out of some misplaced obligation to Harry and Ron. He probably only saw her as a little girl.

But still...

Hermione couldn't give up this fantasy of being with him. When she was in bed at night, her mind would traitorously return to the memory of his hard body wrapped around hers, his warm hand giving her breast a squeeze. She would let her own hand repeat the action, pinching her nipple. She would let her fingers trail down her stomach, before slipping inside her knickers, wishing it was Sirius who was bringing her to gasping orgasm.

Oh Godric, how she wished she hadn't freaked out that first night he'd come home. How far would he have gone?

Probably only so far as to realize who she was.

That memory also reminded her about how he'd said _Nice one, Moony_ , when he'd thought that she had Remus had been together. So maybe there was a _chance_ he thought she was a catch?

 _Yeah right_ , she thought bitterly, _as if that would ever happen_.

* * *

If someone had told Sirius before he went into the veil that in four years he would be panting after little Hermione Granger, he would have slapped them silly. But now that he'd come crashing back into the living world and into Hermione's life, he could admit that she was everything she could possibly want in a witch.

His reintroduction to her had been...memorable to say the least. He had been shocked to slip into his bed when the night he had come back to Grimmauld Place. He didn't think he'd be able to forget how she looked when she'd hoped out of bed even if he was obliviated. She was too shocked at being groped by a strange man to worry about covering her body, clad only in a white t-shirt and a pair of tiny knickers. He had barely been able to repress a groan when he identified the faint pinkness of hard nipples.

She'd looked unfairly hot.

And then, he'd initially thought she was Moony's woman. He had been surprised that his friend would have been with her, but it wasn't as if he couldn't see it. He had been simultaneously happy for his friend and jealous that he would be able to have a taste of Hermione himself.

Then of course he had felt horribly guilty to learn that his friend was actually dead along with his wife, leaving behind a child. He felt even worse when he realized that there was still a glimmer of hope that he could still be with Hermione.

And he really wanted a shot with her...

As the months went on of living at Grimmauld Place, he realized that he liked so much more about Hermione than just those lovely tits of hers. She was smart and kind and had the best laugh. He enjoyed bringing out that little mean streak of hers, thinking that she would have made a brilliant prankster if she ever put her mind to it.

He couldn't help but pull her into arguments, just because of how stunning she looked. He loved seeing her pupils dilate, her breath quicken and her press her hands to her hips with that absolutely bossy look on her face.

Hermione had really grown into a beautiful woman. Her light brown hair, once bushy, had by now calmed into a bedroom wave. Her brown eyes, the color of amaretto not firewhiskey, would light up with laughter and mischievousness, making him want to stare into them all night. And, she had the cutest constellation of freckles across the bridge of her nose.

Her lips... _Godric, her lips_...were the most inviting shade of pink, with just enough plumpness to make him wonder how they'd feel wrapped around his...

Every time he went down that line of thought, Sirius just ended up feeling like a dirty old man. Even if the veil had suspended his aging, he was still a decade older than her and it felt wrong for him to be panting after her like an old dog.

Still, he couldn't stop himself from seeking her out. He could spend the whole night in the library, just talking with her. He loved the little smile he hoped that she saved just for him, but he figured that she was probably just being nice to him.

One time, they'd been hunched over a journal article, reading it together, when Hermione's eyes started to droop shut. Before Sirius knew it, her head had dropped to his shoulder. Merlin, he'd wanted to stay like that forever. But, he knew that the right thing to do was to wake her up, so after a few minutes he gently nudged her awake. She had sat up, her cheeks pink in embarrassment, and she'd apologized to him profusely.

Then, she'd stood up from the couch and kissed him on the cheek before heading off to her own bed. It was simultaneously the best and the worst moment for Sirius. He finally knew exactly how soft and plump her lips were. He wore the memory of them like a tattoo.

But then he'd have to remind himself that she only saw him as a sort of kindly uncle - not a potential lover.

No matter how much his heart hoped.

Before Sirius went into the veil, he had never held the desire to have a real family. As a teenager, he was interested in getting it in with as many girls as he possibly could. Even seeing what James had with Lily was not enough to convince him that he could ever have that. He had hated his own family growing up. Instead, he would surround himself with booze, friends and girls. Then, when he'd escaped from Azkaban, he no longer could feel closeness with other people. The only thing he wanted was to keep Harry safe.

Now that he'd come back to life a second time, Sirius felt revitalized. For the first time in his life, he wanted to love and be loved. He wanted a wife to spend his time with and a family of his own. Not just any witch would do, though.

He wanted Hermione.

He wanted to hold her every night before bed, and he wanted to wake up to her every morning. He wanted to marry her and see her all dressed up in white robes. He wanted to see her belly swell with _his_ child and he wanted her to carry around _their_ child on her hip, just like she did with Teddy. Watching how natural Hermione was with Teddy, how well she cared for his little cousin, he knew that Hermione would be a great mum one day. He wanted to grow old with her.

Sirius wanted it so badly that it hurt sometimes.

But, no matter how much he wanted this, knew that she couldn't possibly want him in the same way. So, he kept his thoughts to himself. He contented himself with playing practical jokes on her or picking arguments with her, just to see her eyes dilate in passion. Because then, for a brief moment, he could pretend that it was actually love in her eyes.

* * *

With everyone in a cheerful mood for the Yule holiday, it had been simple to get Grimmauld Place decorated from top to bottom. Even the notoriously lazy Ron was too happy to lend a hand. It had recently been decided that Christmas dinner would be held there in a fortnight, so everyone was quite busy with the preparations, wanting it to look perfect.

Sirius and Harry were upstairs in the attic looking through old boxes to see if the Blacks had left behind any baubles or ornaments that were worth decorating with. Ginny and Lavender were decorating the dining room, shining the silverware to its former glory and finalizing the menu. Ron was trying his best to hang Christmas lights and holly outside without any magic, aided by his father.

Hermione had chosen to retreat to the library where the tree had been placed. She hung stockings from the mantle of the newly refurbished fireplace, each one knitted with care by Molly Weasley, humming along to some Christmas music.

Sirius had gotten a record player knowing that bringing a Muggle device into the house would upset his mother's portrait. Hermione had been glad to have it, eagerly sharing with the occupants of how much she adored records; it reminded her of listening to Bing Crosby's White Christmas on her grandparents' record player when she was a girl. Her heart had swelled when SIrius bought a copy of the album the next day. It didn't _mean_ anything, but it was nice of him.

She wrapped lights around the tree while the sad tones of _I'll Be Home For Christmas_ played in the background. Hermione was glad that all of them were able to celebrate together, thinking that this really felt like it would be the first truly happy Christmas in many years.

The scent of sugar cookies baking in the kitchen had her looking forward to sitting around the fire later that night. They would all have eggnog with brandy and talk about what they wanted for Christmas.

If only she could have what she _really_ wanted for Christmas...

But somehow she didn't think that over six feet of Sirius Black would be in her stocking Christmas morning, even though she was sure to make the nice list.

Before she let her thoughts get too dark, Hermione set out putting up some new ornaments on the tree. To keep her mind occupied, she placed them by hand, rather than using magic. After a few minutes, she heard excited tromping down the stairs. _That'll be the boys, then_ , Hermione thought with a smile.

Soon, Sirius and Harry burst through the library door.

"Find anything worthwhile, boys?" Hermione asked, not looking up from her task. She knew that they both hated to be called boys. They were manly men after all.

She could practically feel Sirius's grin across the room, even though he wasn't looking at her. "I found the best thing for the best practical joke _ever,_ " he told her proudly.

Hanging the last ornament in the box on the tree, she turned around to look at them. With one eyebrow raised, Hermione asked. "Oh, yes? And what is it that you found?"

"It's my great-great something or other great-grandma Ursula's engagement ring. Mother was always looking for it when I was a child," Sirius said with a smile. Deciding to press his luck, he couldn't stop himself from asking. "So, Hermione, do you want to help me play a prank on my mother's portrait?"

Knowing where this was going, Harry gave the pair a worried look. "I don't know if this is the best idea, Sirius," he said.

"Come on, it will be fun," Sirius complained.

Hermione smiled. "Alright, I'm game, I suppose," she said, disregarding Harry's worried glance. "What do you need me to do?"

With a flourish, Sirius took to the floor with one knee in front of Hermione. Then, reaching into his pocket he pulled a ring with a huge emerald, flanked by little diamonds on the side. It was stunning and spectacular. Then for his own perverse bit of masochism, he asked the question that he wished he could be asking her for real. "Hermione _Jean_ Granger, will you marry me?" He asked, grinning up at her madly, trying to disguise the wild beating in his heart.

Hermione looked shocked and a little bit excited at the same time. Her heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest, even though she knew it was only for a laugh. The ring was stunning, and she felt silly as she nodded her head yes, allowing him to slip the ring onto her left ring finger. It fit her like a glove and it felt so _right_ sitting there.

Standing, Sirius gave her a kiss on the cheek and twirled her around in a circle. Harry looked on, a tad horrified. "Well, come on then," Sirius said after finally setting her back down on her own two feet, memorizing the feel of her pressed against him. "Shall we go introduce Walburga to her future daughter-in-law?" he asked with a conspiratorial wink.

Hermione felt her heart sink and hoped that the disappointment didn't show on her face. One look at Harry's green eyes though told her that it was all too clear to her best friend. She felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment at being so obvious.

Still, Sirius grabbed her hand and dragged her to the front of the house where Sirius's mother's portrait slept silently. Opening the little curtain, Walburga instantly began shrieking about the filth in the house and how Sirius was a stain on the house of her father.

Sirius stood there calmly, smirking while she ranted and raved at the pair of them. Hermione cringed, feeling the weight of all of Walburga's nasty words. Once she'd tired herself out, the portrait quieted and only then did Sirius engage her. "Mother, I have come to tell you some exciting news!" he said cheerfully. "You remember Hermione, don't you?"

"Of course! Filthy mudblood tramping all over my father's house like she owns the place," Walburga spat at Hermione, making the girl shiver.

"Well, we wanted you to be the first to know that..." Sirius trailed off, his grin getting wider and wider. "I've asked Hermione here to marry me, and she has accepted." Sirius pulled her left hand up and kissed her knuckles, letting the portrait get a good look at the emerald ring.

"Is that...Ursula Black's ring?" Walburga gasped, clearly affronted.

"Why yes mother, it is," Sirius said, innocently. "I was cleaning the attic today and I found it. I took one look at it and I just _knew_ it was perfect for my Hermione."

"No!" Walburga hissed. "How dare you desecrate such an heirloom with this muggle filth! Disgusting! Lower than a swine! Take her from my sight at once," Walburga demanded.

"As you wish, mother," Sirius said, beginning to close the curtains once again. "Oh, I am sure we will be back soon to let you know about any future grandchildren you can expect. You know I am so keen on continuing the Black line."

 _That_ declaration set off a fresh wave of shouts and hisses.

Sirius just laughed and sent a silencing spell at the old bird. "Sorry about that, I know she was awful to you, but I think it was worth it to see the look on her face. Please don't take what she said to heart, Hermione," he said, apologetically.

Hermione nodded, giving Sirius a sad smile. She knew as well as he did how much Walburga's words could cut deep. "It's fine," she answered. Then she looked up at him. "Are you actually keen on having children, Sirius?"

Sirius paused for a moment. "I think that I would like to have children, but I don't have any immediate plans right now," he said quietly. It was the first time that he was admitting it out loud, but he felt like he could tell Hermione anything.

Hermione looked a bit surprised, but not shocked. "I think you would make a wonderful father," she told him, honesty shining in her brown eyes.

"Do you really?" he asked her. He didn't think anyone would think that. He felt as reckless and irresponsible as an eighteen-year-old sometimes still.

"Yes, you do remarkably well with Teddy," she said, thinking of all the times that she'd seen Sirius reading to Teddy, even though he couldn't really understand the books yet. Seeing them together made her heart ache.

"Well, I think you'd make an amazing mother, Hermione," Sirius told her. He loved watching her playing with Teddy. She always made the toddler laugh and giggle. "Not that I'm asking...or anything like that," he added awkwardly. He felt awful when he saw her shoulders slump a little. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel bad.

When they returned to the library, they found that Harry was still there, eating some just frosted sugar cookies. "How did it go?" he asked.

"Didn't you hear? She blew a gasket," Sirius said, with obvious pride on his face.

"Oh, I did hear alright," Harry said, returning the grin. It was awfully easy to wind Walburga up, but Sirius delighted in it. "Hermione, why are you still wearing the ring?"

Hermione blushed. She had been enjoying the fantasy of being Sirius's fiancee, even if it was only momentary. She didn't _want_ to take off the ring. It felt so right on her finger and it was truly exquisite. But, she knew she couldn't keep it forever. She reached for the ring, taking it between her fingers and pulling. To her absolute astonishment, it wasn't budging. "I can't take it off," she said.

"Haha, I know that it's beautiful Hermione, but..." Harry trailed off, probably trying to spare her feelings.

Hermione tugged harder at the ring, but all she felt was nearly unbearable pressure when she tried to remove it. "No, I mean it's stuck," she said, a bit of panic bleeding into her voice.

Sirius looked at her in concern. "Maybe I have to take it off, since I put it on," he suggested. He grabbed her tiny hand in his larger one and gave the ring a firm tug, but still it stayed firmly on her finger. Swearing quietly under his breath, he muttered a lubricating spell on the ring, but got no further.

Harry watched on, growing progressively more upset. "What the hell, Sirius? Did you give her a cursed piece of jewelry?" he questioned sharply, obviously worried about his friend. Harry took Hermione's hand in his own and tugged on the ring with all his might. He was nearly in a panic by the time he gave up.

Sirius paled. "Fuck, Hermione, I'm sorry. I promise we will get this sorted out," he promised. He took her hand back in his, as a sign of reassurance.

Hermione met his gray eyes with sadness and insecurity. "Maybe it's because I'm a Mudblood?" she asked tentatively.

Sirius's eyes were ablaze with annoyance. "Never call yourself that, Hermione," he commanded, running his thumb on the palm of her hand in a surprisingly intimate gesture.

Hermione felt her face heat up at being this close to the man that she'd fancied for months now. She almost wanted to ask him what the harm was in her continuing to wear it. But then, her heart sank, knowing that Sirius didn't really want to marry her, or be engaged at all.

"I think I remember there being a book in here about family artifacts. I bet if we find it, we'll figure out how to get it off," Sirius told her.

Hermione nodded and they began to look on the bookshelf for it. "What do you know about the ring, Sirius?" she asked.

"Just that it's over a century old and that Phineas Nigellus had it specially commissioned for his wife, Ursula. She was a Flint," he recited from memory, and shook his head from all the family history lessons he'd been forced to memorize as a child.

They looked quietly for a few moments, Harry angrily huffing every now and again in frustration, before Sirius finally found the book. It was black and emblazoned with the Black Family Crest on the front. "Here it is. _Black Family Inventory of Goods_ ," he read from the cover.

Hermione looked intrigued by the book, and so Sirius reached out his arm with the large book, so that she might take a look at it as well. The moment her fingers made contact with the book at the same time as his, they were enveloped in a bright blue light. They locked eyes for a moment before the world started to get a bit dim.

And then they were gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione woke up slowly, to the sound of a pair of voices whispering. What had happened to her? Had the book been cursed too? Had Sirius been hurt at all? Struggling to open her eyes, she heard one of the voices say, "Look! They are starting to wake up."

Hermione opened her eyes only to be greeted by the blurry outline of two children. Frowning, she blinked a few times. "Where am I?" she asked, completely confused.

The little boy smiled at her. "You're at Grimmauld Place!" he announced proudly, giving her a toothy grin.

Hermione's confusion only grew. "Is Sirius here? Is he okay?" she asked, concerned for the man of her affections. Had he been hurt by the blast as well?

"Sirius?" the little girl asked, giving her a curious look. "I better go get mum and dad," she said after a brief moment of consideration, before she scampered out of the room.

Hermione was left with the little boy. Slowly, she sat up giving her body a chance to adjust. When she looked around Grimmauld Place's library, she saw Sirius lying on the ground next to her, his eyes still fluttering open. The book that they'd been holding was nowhere to be found. Hermione sighed in relief seeing Sirius's gray eyes finally open and slowly focus on her.

"Who are you?" she asked, after returning her attention to the little boy.

He didn't hesitate in telling her. "My name's Cygnus! I'm nine," he said brightly. He had blond hair and gray eyes, but he shared Sirius's nose and general facial structure. "Who are you?" he asked, curious about the new witch that had appeared.

"My name is Hermione. I'm twenty," she told him sheepishly. Even though he seemed harmless enough, she was still wary of the situation. "Is your name Cygnus Black?"

"How did you know?" he asked with absolute wonder.

Before Hermione could answer, a woman with hair so deeply red that was nearly brown swept into the room with a tall man following behind her. Hermione's heart sank when she realized who it was. She would recognize the man from his portrait anywhere. It was none other than Phineas Nigellus Black, and the woman must be Ursula, Hermione thought.

Luckily, Sirius was finally well enough to sit up and look around, giving Hermione a little bit of comfort. "Well, he's obviously a Black," Phineas said, pointing at Sirius. Then he turned to Hermione. "But who are you?" he asked with a scowl.

Hermione frowned, trying to keep the depth of Phineas's hatred of Muggleborns in the forefront of her mind. She wanted to get out of this place alive, so antagonizing him was not a great idea. "I'm Hermione Granger. And this is Sirius Black," she answered.

"Oh," Ursula said quietly. "When Belvina told me that you were asking for Sirius I thought you meant my son," she said with a smile.

The little girl from before peaked out from behind her mother's back, giving Hermione a small smile. At least the children were friendly to her, Hermione through.

"What year is it?" Sirius asked, once he was finally ready to join the conversation, having gotten his wits back.

"1898 of course," Phineas responded, not realizing how odd of a question that was as he was still trying to make an assessment about the young woman in his library.

"Oh, fuck it all," Sirius said, which earned him a scolding from Ursula. "We are from 1998," Sirius said, patting Hermione on the arm, comfortingly.

That seemed to draw Ursula's attention to the ring on Hermione's finger. "Oh, Phineas! Look at her finger! It's my ring!" she squealed, absolutely gushing with happiness. "Come, let's go to the dining room. I will have Titania bring us a tea service."

Phineas still scowled, but let Ursula lead the confused pair, and her two children into the dining room of Grimmauld Place. Hermione was surprised by how warm and inviting the townhouse seemed. She realized that it must still be fairly new. "How long have you been living here?" Hermione asked, trying to be polite.

"Well, Phineas and I moved here a bit after he started work at Hogwarts. The manor house was too much for me to take care of all by myself, with him being gone most of the year," Ursula explained. "Is it still in the family?" she asked Sirius.

"Yes, I grew up here," Sirius answered with a gruff voice, leading Hermione to elbow him in the side. It didn't do them any good to offend their new hosts by talking about how much he hated _their_ family home.

"Wonderful!" Ursula said, absolutely delighted. Hermione mused that she didn't look at all like the only Flint she knew - Marcus Flint, of Slytherin Quidditch fame, was rather troll like and mean. "Titania!" she called out, gaining the attention of a little house-elf.

Hermione felt Sirius grab her hand and squeeze, knowing that she was rather outspoken about her feelings on house-elves. But, Hermione knew better than to antagonize the Blacks in this unfamiliar time about their use of the poor creatures. Hermione said nothing while Ursula ordered tea service and the little elf brought back a tray moments later.

Phineas muttered about needing to do some work in the study and meeting them later for dinner, so he took his tea cup to go, leaving the mysterious couple in the hands of his wife. The rest of them - Belvina, Cygnus, Ursula, Hermione and Sirius - sat down at the table.

"So, have you been engaged long?" Ursula asked them with a serene smile. Cygnus and Belvina looked bored with the wedding discussion, but it seemed they were too curious about Sirius to leave so quickly.

Hermione smiled. "Just today, actually. We were just looking into some more information in the library about the ring, when we were brought back here," she explained softly, knowing that there was no reason not to keep up the ruse in front of Sirius's ancestors. She patted her hand on his arm and hoped that he didn't mind enough to play along. After all, _he_ got her into this mess.

"Well, hasn't it been passed down generation to generation?" Ursula asked, perplexed.

Sirius was able to fill in the gaps. "Actually, I just recently found the ring. It's been lost long since before I was born. But I took one look at it and knew that it was meant for Hermione," he answered, giving her a sweet smile that made Hermione's heart stutter.

 _Oh_ , how she longed for him to say something like that to her for real.

Ursula frowned. "Well, I'm glad that it's been located," she said with lips pursed. Obviously, whatever she had been expected to happen to her ring had not happened.

The five of them finished their tea in relative silence, but before long the children started squirming with anxiousness.

"My, I must say that fashions have changed considerably in the next century," Ursula said with a slight frown, staring at Hermione's green sweater dress and Sirius's Muggle blue jeans and gray sweater. "Belvina, why don't you take Hermione to your room? She can stay with you while we figure out how to send them back. I will bring something down for you to wear to dinner. Sirius, I can show you to the guest room."

Ursula stood, ushering them from the parlor. "Dinner will be in about an hour. My other two sons, Arcturus and Sirius -" Ursula broke off to give Sirius a huge grin, "will be joining us."

Cygnus smiled at them before piping up. "I have another brother named Phineas!" he said with excitement. "But he fell in love with a Muggle, so now he's not allowed to live with us."

Sirius gave Hermione a poignant look, trying to apologize for his family, even though he had nothing to apologize for. It wasn't as if he _shared_ those views.

Ursula practically hissed. "Hush, Cyg. If your father hears you spouting that nonsense again, you will be in big trouble, mister," she scolded her son.

Belvina grinned at Hermione and linked her arm in Hermione's before taking them to her bedroom. Hermione was surprised to be led to the room that she had Ginny shared at one point. "Well, I suppose I'll split the bed then?" Hermione asked Belvina. "I doubt you'd want to share with a stranger."

Waving her wand, Belvina watched in awe at the transfiguration Hermione performed to split the large bed into two equally sized beds with an equal number of pillows and blankets. "Wow! Did you learn how to do that at Hogwarts?" she asked.

Hermione smiled at Belvina. "Yes, but not until sixth year," Hermione confessed. "Though, I don't know how much the curriculum has changed in the last 100 years. I suppose we could ask your father." Hermione mused, before sitting down on her bed.

Belvina came and sat down next to her, without too much concept of personal space. "You must be a really powerful witch. That must be why Sirius's family accepted your betrothal so late," she said, looking at Hermione with wonder.

Hermione understood that the little girl was somehow calling her old, but she knew that Belvina wasn't even a teenager yet, and decided to give her a pass. She knew the younger witch didn't mean any harm by it. "Hmm, I haven't the faintest idea," she said, unsure of how these pureblood betrothals normally went.

"It's very unusual, see," Belvina continued, tucking her auburn hair behind her ear. "Blacks always have betrothals. You and Sirius must love each other very much." Her dark eyes were staring at Hermione with mischievousness.

"Oh, I very much _respect_ Sirius and he's a good friend," she finally settled on, unable to reveal her heart's deepest feelings to a curious little girl. She couldn't imagine the embarrassment she would feel if it would get back to Sirius. "So, are you already betrothed?" Hermione asked Belvina, desperate to get the attention off of herself.

"Yes, I am set to marry Herbert Burke when I come of age," Belvina told her, with a proud look on her face.

"Really? But you can't be very old?" Hermione asked, truly surprised.

"I am twelve, but I will be thirteen in April. I was born on Walpurgis Night, a most auspicious day, so I have had many offers of marriage. Father knows Herbert's father, though, so they decided that we should be married," Belvina explained to her matter-of-factly, as if it wasn't totally outlandish.

Hermione barely hid her grimace at the idea that this sweet little girl might be the mother or grandmother of the owner of Borgin and Burke's. Before Hermione could ask her another question, Belvina gave her a small, questioning look. "Hermione, may I ask you a question?"

Hermione looked at the girl with confusion before nodding in the affirmative.

"What's it like...to kiss a _boy_ on the lips?" she asked with such curiosity she could have been an anthropologist.

It took everything in Hermione's power to not burst out laughing at the question. "Well, sometimes it can be a bit awkward, especially if you've never kissed anyone before. You might not know where to put your hands or you might find it a bit wet...but when you find the right person to kiss, everything settles into place and the rest of the world just fades away, until it's just you and that other person..." Hermione trailed off wistfully, thinking of how nice it would be to kiss Sirius Black.

Belvina noted the look on her face and sighed. "And that's how you knew you loved Sirius?" she questioned.

Before Hermione could correct her, Ursula waltzed into the room, carrying a dress. "Oh good! You've got the beds sorted. Now, Hermione, dear, let's get this dress on so we can tailor it to fit you," she said, before pushing the dress into Hermione's arms.

The dress was a deep green color, with huge poofy sleeves, but with a collar that rested off the shoulder, revealing Hermione's decolletage. She pulled the dress up in the front a little, trying to hide her modest cleavage that was revealed by the cut of the neck. The skirts were full, but after it was tailored, Hermione found it very comfortable, to her surprise.

Just as the girls were about to head down for dinner, Sirius knocked on the door, wearing a three piece suit with a wide tie. "Excuse me, but may I have a word with Hermione in the hall before dinner?" he asked.

Ursula gave a nod before leading Belvina down the stairs.

Hermione grinned at Sirius, shutting the door to the bedroom behind her. "You look smashing, Sirius. I don't think I've ever seen you this dressed up," she told him sincerely. It made their foray into the past seem a little bit less frightening and a little bit more like a fancy dress party.

Sirius gave her a weak smile, clearly uncomfortable being so dressed up. "Likewise," he said, clearing his throat. He was doing his best to keep his eyes on Hermione's face, and not let his gaze wander to the top of her breasts, so _nicely_ on display in the green dress. "Listen, as I'm sure you'd already figured out, this is Phineas Nigellus's family. He was really serious about the whole blood purity thing, so we will have to act like a good pureblood couple, okay?"

Hermione bit her lower lip. "Okay, I'll try," she agreed, knowing that she would have to hold back much of her outspokenness.

"Just follow my lead," Sirius told her, offering her his arm.

Hermione gladly took it, feeling like a queen on Sirius's arm. She just wished it wasn't acting and she might actually accompany him as a date somewhere in the future.

When they reached the dining room, all of the other Blacks had already assembled around the table. Cygnus was patting the chair next to him with eagerness, wanting Sirius and Hermione to sit next to him. Once everyone was seated, Hermione was surprised to see herself seated across the table from a young Sirius. He had the same devastating gray eyes that her Sirius had, while the rest of the Blacks had dark eyes. The only difference between the two - besides their age - was that young Sirius looked really quite arrogant, while _her_ Sirius was casually elegant.

Phineas Nigellus sat at the head of the table, scowling at his own family. "We have guests from the future here; they will be staying here until we can send them back. This is Hermione Granger and Sirius Black. Hermione, Sirius, allow me to introduce you to my other sons, Sirius and Arcturus," he said, acting as though he was quite put upon by their presence.

Younger Sirius grinned at the pair. "So, how exactly are we related then?" he asked, cocking his head to one side.

 _Her_ Sirius looked somewhat pained before counting on his fingers. "Well, you are my great-grandfather," he answered, enjoying the look on younger Sirius's face, pained at the prospect of being old enough to be someone's _grandfather_. Then, he turned to the bright blond hair of Cygnus. "Actually, you're my great grandfather as well!" he said with a smirk.

Cygnus was much more enthused by the news.

"Really? How does that happen?" Phineas Nigellus asked, sounding affronted. Hermione was beginning to wonder if he was just perpetually offended by the people around him. "The Black family has always secured the most fortuitous unions."

Sirius gave a false smile to his paterfamilias. "Well, as you see...I can't really go into _all_ the details on why...but there were so few _good_ pureblood families when my parents were young. They figured second cousins marrying was better than marrying a Muggle," he said with a sneer. Under the table, though, he patted Hermione on the knee in comfort.

"Yes, I suppose that is wise," Phineas replied, before giving a hard look at Hermione. "Granger, was it? That's an unusual surname...it's not one that I _recognize_ ," he added, inherently suspicious of her.

Sirius was about to answer for her, but Hermione cut in. "Well _surely_ you've heard of my ancestor, Hector Dagworth-Granger?" she asked, jutting her chin forward in defiance. If Phineas could think he was better than everyone else in the room, she could pretend just as well.

Young Sirius's eyebrows raised. "Oh potioneering fame?" he asked, surprised.

"The very same," Hermione said primly. "Well, many generations ago, there were two brothers and they wanted to split their inheritance equitably, and so they decided to split the name as well. Now there are two families, the Dagworths and the Grangers."

Sirius grabbed Hermione's hand in his own, running his thumb across the back of her hand. He was proud of her for thinking so quickly on her feet. "Yes, I am so lucky to have found a witch with such excellent bloodlines, and one as powerful and academic," he said, giving her a sideways look.

Phineas seemed satisfied with that answer, finally, and let the conversation about Hermione's bloodlines drop.

Arcturus had been pushing around the food on his plate during the course of dinner, not eating anything, leading Ursula to finally chastise him. "Oh, Arcturus, I wish that you would just accept it and eat your dinner. Everything will work out marvelously," she promised, a saccharine smile on her face.

Belvina looked at Hermione's confusion and concern and filled the whole table in on the situation. "Arcturus just got his betrothal finalized and he is very unhappy about it," she whispered overly loud.

Arcturus, all black curls and blacker eyes, scowled at the whole table. "I don't want to marry Lysandra Yaxley!" he shouted, shoving his fork down against the plate in a clank.

"What's wrong with her?" Sirius asked, forgetting who he was pretending to be momentarily.

"Nothing is _wrong_ with her," Phineas Nigellus insisted, infuriated at the question.

"Just that she's only three-years-old!" Arcturus spat back at his father. "And I'm fourteen-years-old. It's _unnatural_."

Phineas Nigellus frowned at his son. "This is the way that the Black family has always done things. There are ten years in age difference between your mother and I and we get along just fine," he answered. Settling his eyes on the newly engaged couple, Phineas Nigellus pointed at them. "And see, it is the way that things will continue to be done for another century. Sirius, how old are you?"

Sirius cleared his throat. His age was so sketchy because of his years spent in the veil, but he decided to go with this true age, just to be safe. "36, this November," He told the table politely, unwilling to look at Hermione because he didn't want to see the disgust in her eyes at having to pretend to be engaged to someone as old as him.

"And Hermione, how old are you?" Phineas Nigellus asked her.

"I turned twenty in September." She told the table.

"See! _Over fifteen_ _years_ of age difference, but you don't see Hermione and Sirius complaining about their marriage, do you?" Phineas Nigellus asked his son.

Both Hermione and Sirius blushed at the idea that their relationship was somehow unacceptable due to their age difference. Neither one wanted to look at the other, afraid of what the other would think..

Arcturus looked at the pair of them, before his eyes settled on his mother's engagement ring on Hermione's finger. "Yeah, but they are at least in love with each other!" he shouted.

Sirius and Hermione looked at one another, with shock in their eyes. How could it be that Arcturus, a boy of fourteen, was able to see through them so easily?

Still, neither one said anything to the other, and the conversation at the table moved to other topics. Sirius and Hermione sat quietly for the rest of the conversation, before Phineas Nigellus decided that dinner was over and that the men folk, minus Cygnus, who needed to go to bed, would be retiring to the library for a cigar.

Sirius readily agreed, but asked if he might accompany Hermione to her bedroom, to say goodnight, before returning to the library. Phineas Nigellus nodded, and Sirius offered her his arm again.

Just as they walked beneath the threshold of the doorway, though, they found themselves trapped in place, unable to leave the room. Cygnus and Belvina were giggling quietly, and when they looked back at the dining room, younger Sirius was pointing at the top of the doorway. Sirius looked up and saw that a sprig of enchanted mistletoe was hanging there, and they wouldn't be able to leave until they engaged in a kiss.

Sirius shrugged at Hermione, whose eyes were suddenly full of passion and heavily lidded. Seeing that she agreed to some extent, Sirius took a deep breath to steel himself and dipped his head down. He pressed his lips against hers. Her lips were softer than he _ever_ could have imagined, and they fit together so perfectly that the giggling of his family members disappeared, until it was just him and Hermione.

He felt her sigh into the kiss and wrap her arms around his neck, her fingers coming up to play with the short hair at the back of his neck, causing pleasant shivers to run up and down his spine. Her lips were pliable and moved against his, giving him the courage to run his tongue along the seam of her lips, her own sweet tongue darting out to meet his.

 _What was this?_ Sirius wondered his head dizzy with lust and love for this woman in his arms. He had never dreamt that a kiss could affect him like this. He had never dreamt that Hermione Granger would reciprocate a kiss with him like this.

Hearing Phineas Nigellus clear his throat reminded Sirius that they had an audience and with an embarrassed look he broke away from Hermione, before leading her up the stairs wordlessly. When they reached her door, Sirius couldn't even meet her brown eyes and instead stared down at his feet. "I will look for the book in the library tonight if I can," he promised her.

"Alright," Hermione said quietly, desperately wishing that Sirius would look at her, so that his eyes might give her some sense of how he was feeling. That kiss that affected her in ways that no other kiss had. She was tingling from her head down to her toes.

"Well, sweet dreams..." he trailed off in that wistful way that he did sometimes, leaving Hermione feeling utterly confused.

Alone in the room, Hermione quickly undressed and got into bed, hoping to pretend to be asleep by the time Belvina returned to the room as well. She didn't really want to talk about her snog with Sirius with the inquisitive young girl, when even she didn't know how _she_ was feeling.

What was it about Sirius that always left her feeling so boneless and warm, she wondered. She could admit to herself that that was easily the best kiss she'd ever had in her life. Even now, remembering how he'd shivered under her fingertips had her pressing her thighs together in desperation for some friction. She wanted him so badly she ached.

She only wished that she wasn't sharing a room so that she might be able to get herself off to ease some of the tension.

Further, Hermione was disappointed that Sirius and her first kiss ever was a forced kiss under that awful weed. It would be different if Sirius had kissed her of his own volition. But that idea was too preposterous, Hermione knew, as Sirius would never want to kiss her like that on his own. Maybe she should start hanging some mistletoe around Grimmauld Place when they returned so that she might find herself trapped underneath it again. It might be the only way to get another kiss from the object of her desire.

The door creaked open and Hermione didn't miss the disappointed sigh Belvina gave at the sight of her being asleep. Deciding that sleep was just the thing she needed, Hermione drifted off in the hopes that she would get some well needed rest.

* * *

When Sirius returned to the library, he was still buzzing from the kiss that he and Hermione had shared. It was so sweet to feel her pressed up against him like that, her essence filling his every sense. But, Sirius knew that she was just reacting in the moment, and he didn't let himself dwell on it too long. It wouldn't do to get his hopes up too high for something that wasn't replicable.

He was not prepared to enter the library and have his great-grandfather Sirius smirking at him. "You're welcome," he said with a smirk. The younger wizard handed him a brandy and Sirius was barely able to resist a scowl.

This was the younger version of himself that Hermione deserved, not an old man who'd spent his best years in prison. She'd probably just been overwhelmed by a younger Black male; after all, he remembered how girls - even the swotty ones - reacted to him when he was at Hogwarts.

"For what?" he asked, petulantly.

"For the mistletoe, obviously," his ancestor answered with a roll of his eyes, before ushering him to the couch. Sirius had hoped to spend some time perusing the bookshelves. Instead, he was immediately pulled into conversation with Phineas Nigellus.

"So, Sirius. How does it sound to have the wedding here in the library on Wednesday?" Phineas Nigellus asked, expectantly.

At first, he was too shocked to formulate a response. "What do you mean? A wedding? Here?" Sirius could barely form a proper sentence.

"Well, yes, of course. Wednesday is the winter solstice - a most auspicious day," Phineas Nigellus told him. "You really couldn't have picked a better time to get engaged."

Sirius took a big swig of the brandy to calm his nerves. "Well, I don't know...I think that Hermione and I would like to get married in front of all of our friends and family. Would our marriage even register if we get married before either one of us is technically born?" he wondered out loud, absolutely ignoring the fact that Hermione would never forgive him if he married her for a practical joke.

Phineas frowned, thinking over Sirius's words. "It won't matter. After all, the house must have sent you back for a reason," he said, finally.

"What do you mean, _the house_ sent us back?" Sirius asked, truly confused as to what Phineas Nigellus was suggesting. "Do you mean to tell me that Grimmauld Place is sentient?"

"Well of course, boy," Phineas Nigellus groused at him, before continuing on. "Nimue, didn't your family teach you anything about this house or the blood wards?"

"I didn't hear anything like that!" Sirius told him, truly surprised. He _definitely_ would have remembered that if it had come up in the lessons on family history. Merlin! Think of all the times that he'd wanked in this house. If he'd have thought it was _listening_ to him...he shuddered at the thought.

"When we built this house, we infused all sorts of blood wards into it. The house looks after the good of the House of Black," Phineas Nigellus explained, acting like he was speaking to an imbecile.

"That's how the family tapestry works!" Arcturus told him, smiling brightly.

Sirius had never really given much thought to the family tapestry after being burned off of it. "Ah, well, I suppose that makes sense," Sirius agreed with a grimace.

"So you see, if the blood wards recognize the binding, then they will be magically registered when you return to your time. Or rather, when _the house_ returns you to your time," Phineas told Sirius confidently.

Sirius was still skeptical about the house sending them back. It wasn't a coincidence that they had been transported when they both touched the same book. But he found himself agreeing to Phineas Nigellus anyway. "Alright, Wednesday sounds good then. Just let me figure out the best way to bring this up with Hermione."

 _Merlin, Hermione!_ Sirius thought. He hoped that she wouldn't be too furious when he told her that he agreed to marry her in this time.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione was woken up the next morning by Ursula throwing open the curtains and letting the light into the room. "Good morning, Hermione!" she said cheerfully, taking a moment to look at the light dusting of snow they'd gotten the night before.

Hermione was not prepared to be woken up in such a way and sat up slowly, as the memories of the day before began to pour into her head. She was taken aback by how cheerful Ursula was compared to every other Black witch she knew. Walburga was awful, Narcissa was stoic and Bellatrix was insane. Hermione guessed Andromeda was alright, but there was a coolness to her manner as well. She finally supposed that Ursula was really a Flint, so that must be why she was so different. Still, it made her wonder what happened to cause a family to change so much in just a few decades.

"Good morning, Ursula," she answered.

"I hope you don't mind, I've made an appointment to take you robe shopping later today with Belvina," Ursula told her. "There is breakfast in the dining room, and I think that Sirius was waiting to eat with you. He said there was something that he wanted to talk to you about."

Hermione hoped that this meant that he had gotten a hold of the book, and would be able to send them back soon. She was constantly being reminded of how tenuous her position was, being a Muggleborn and all. Phineas Nigellus was quite outspoken about his hatred of Muggles, after all.

Still, she supposed that it could be about the kiss that they had shared the night before. It had been a _wonderful_ kiss and Hermione wanted the memory of it untainted by the apologies that Sirius would surely give her. At least now she could pretend that it was something they both wanted.

Sighing, she slipped on the black dress that Ursula had brought down for her and made her way to the dining room where Sirius was sitting with a full English breakfast. The diminutive house-elf that was doting on him. Knowing that she couldn't let her feelings on house-elves get back to Phineas Nigellus, she asked for eggs and toast most politely and was sure to thank Titania when it was delivered to her.

When she and Sirius were alone, she broke the silence that hung between them. "Ursula said you wanted to speak with me. Did you get a chance to locate the book?" she asked, hoping to affect a casual air.

Sirius frowned, shaking his head. "No, Phineas Nigellus kept me busy learning the details of the blood wards here at Grimmauld Place. He told me that the house is sentient," he revealed.

He watched as Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Well that _is_ unusual," she answered, never too surprised about what was possible in the Wizarding world.

"Tell me about it. He thinks that the house sent us here for a purpose," he continued. Sirius was trying to ease her into the conversation topic he was about to bring up, knowing that it would probably shock her.

Hermione looked at him demurely, before prompting him. "Oh? And just what purpose is that?" she asked.

Sirius took a deep breath, preparing himself for the blowback that would undoubtedly come from his next statement. "He wants us to get married here. In this time," he said, keeping his eyes on the table in front of him. He didn't want to see how furious she would be.

"M-married?" Hermione stuttered, all the blood draining from her face. "Oh, Sirius, we couldn't possibly. We've only been fake engaged for two days!" She wasn't sure why she was trying to explain it to him, as she was sure that he had the same misgivings as she did.

"Well, that's a perfectly acceptable amount of time to be engaged in this time. He wants us to have the ceremony on Wednesday," Sirius told her, finally looking up at her.

Hermione worried her lower lips between her teeth. "Tell him we can't do it," she demanded.

"I can't do that, Hermione, he's my paterfamilias," Sirius replied, hoping she would understand the concept.

"Sirius, you don't _have_ a paterfamilias. You were disowned," Hermione argued with him, her pupils beginning to dilate from their rousing discussion.

"Well, I can't exactly tell him that can I? He would throw us both out on the street and then we'd be stuck here with no chance of getting back," Sirius scoffed.

Hermione placed her head in her hands and took a deep breath to calm herself. She knew that he was right. She just couldn't imagine making Sirius tie himself to her for the rest of his life. He'd be miserable dealing with such a little girl like her. She knew that she wasn't a glamorous witch that she was sure Sirius would prefer. "We can tell him we will have a handfasting…one year and a day," she offered meekly - it was the best she could come up with.

Sirius looked at the top of her head. Was Hermione really upset at the prospect of being with him? Of course she was, he was an old dog, and she deserved someone young and attractive. "That could work," he mused, thinking it might hold of Phineas. And then maybe in the resulting year, he could convince her that he wasn't the worst choice of partner.

Hermione looked up at him, guilt in her lovely brown eyes. "That way, next year, you can be done with me. I promise to stay out of your way, and…I will work with you, you know?" She was trying to convey her meaning to him.

Sirius didn't think that he did know what she meant, but nodded anyway. "Alright, I will tell Phineas Nigellus. I am so sorry, Hermione. This ended up being the worst practical joke, and I wish that I'd never gotten you involved in it," he apologized, feeling truly guilty.

Hermione swallowed heavily, feeling small prickles of tears at the back of her eyes. Of course Sirius didn't want to be fake engaged or actually handfasted to her. She just wished that he wouldn't keep bringing it up. Suddenly, Hermione dropped her head and groaned again. "I've just remembered that Ursula told me she was going to take me dress shopping today. What does a wedding dress even look like in 1898?" she asked Sirius.

He gave her one of those lopsided grins that she'd come to love. "I don't know, but I am sure you will look gorgeous in it," he teased.

* * *

Ursula led Hermione and Belvina through the streets of Islington, which was still just a separate village from London. The village waIt wasn't small, but it wasn't anything like it was in 1998 either.

When they arrived at the dress shop, Hermione was taken aback by all of the dresses on display. Ursula and Belvina helped her pick out a few that she liked, and then she went into a little back room to try the first one on. Ursula was gushing with happiness at the prospect of planning a wedding.

"Oh, this will be a wonderful trial run before I plan _my_ Sirius's wedding in two years," she said, obviously on cloud nine.

"He's marrying Hester Gamp," Belvina told Hermione, who'd emerged in an atrocious white ball gown. "She's not very pretty though. Not like you are, Hermione," she added.

Hermione blushed and Ursula scolded Belvina. "Belvina Black! Do not speak of your future sister-in-law that way!" her mother said, before turning apologetically to Hermione. "Not that you aren't beautiful, Hermione but I don't think that dress is the one for you."

Hermione was glad that Ursula agreed and returned to the room to try on the next dress.

"And how wonderful that you showed up when you did. Just before the solstice. As I'm sure you know, dear, the winter solstice is such an auspicious date," she continued to prattle on. It was as if Ursula thought they had planned it this way, when really it was just an odd accident.

Hermione didn't know why the winter solstice should be so important and made a mental note to ask Sirius why when they returned home. She figured it was some kind of pureblood thing that had faded in popularity over the years. "Oh, yes, it's wonderful, " Hermione said, this time in a low cut dress with lace illusion sleeves. "And Sirius and I are so happy that Phineas Nigellus agreed to a handfasting. We also want to celebrate with our friends and family back home."

Ursula gave Hermione a knowing smile, before shaking her head no on that dress as well. Hermione returned to the dressing room a third time. She slipped into a slightly off white dress that hugged her figure and had little off the shoulder sleeves. Looking at herself in the mirror, she knew that this was the dress for her.

How odd it felt to be shopping for a wedding dress when she knew that this wedding was a farce.

Stepping out into the other room, Ursula and Belvina both gasped. "Oh, darling, I think that this is definitely the dress for you," Ursula told her kindly.

Hermione suddenly had tears welling in her eyes. "Oh, I just feel like this is all happening so fast. Sirius only just…proposed and now we are getting handfasted only a few days later. I worry that I am going to be…trapping him into something that he doesn't want. I just feel like…he could never love me," she blubbered, allowing herself to be vulnerable in front of the two women.

Ursula stood and wiped the tears from Hermione's cheeks. "Oh, but my darling, he gave you my ring, so you mustn't think things like that. Surely the ring has given you sufficient proof of his love?" she asked.

"Well, it is a very beautiful ring, Ursula, but Sirius is so wealthy, I know that this is a pittance compared to his overall inheritance," Hermione told her.

"Ahh, but don't you know the story of the ring?" Ursula asked. Hermione shook her head no. Ursula gave her a broad smile before suggesting that they move across the road to discuss it once they purchased the dress. "It's a story better told over a cup of tea."

That was how Hermione found herself learning about the courtship between Ursula and Phineas Nigellus. Apparently, they had argued a lot as children, Phineas being annoyed with her seeing as she was so much younger than him. Over time though, they both matured and Phineas Nigellus found himself in love with her. Ursula, meanwhile, had grown enamored with the man that Phineas Nigellus had grown up to be as well.

But, Ursula had been unable to accept that he loved her, and despite their betrothal, she was reluctant to get married to someone she was sure still hated her. In order to let Ursula know the depth of his feelings, he'd commissioned the beautiful emerald ring, in goblin-wrought silver. "So, the ring was enchanted. It could only be given if the giver loved the receiver, and the ring can only be worn if the receiver loves the giver back. If not, you both would have received quite the nasty shock," she explained.

Hermione was dumbstruck. "So Sirius really does love me?" she asked, her heart swelling with the possibility. She wanted nothing more than to race back to Grimmauld Place and wrap him up in her arms. But then, she remembered that even if he loved her, he might not want to marry her. Clearing her head, she asked more questions. "So, is that why I can't take the ring off?"

"Well, it's meant as a sign of enduring love, so you shouldn't _want_ to take the ring off. But once you have the handfasting, you should be able to remove it, if needed," Ursula told her happily.

Belvina sighed. "Oh, it's so romantic."

"Well, shall we get you back to your fiance?" Ursula asked, sensing that Hermione had a lot on her mind. With the enthusiastic agreement of the younger woman, the three of them headed back to Grimmauld Place.

* * *

Sirius had spent the day looking for the book in the library, still not able to believe that Grimmauld Place would have sent them back to this time. He'd been looking high and low when Arcturus came into the room. The young wizard hadn't stopped pestering Sirius about his relationship with Hermione, asking all sorts of questions about his witch.

It wasn't long before Phineas Nigellus had joined the conversation as well. He knew that something wasn't quite right about the couple and he thought that by talking with Sirius, he might be able to suss out the answers.

"How long have you known Hermione?" Arcturus had asked, still very much upset about his bride-to-be's young age.

"I first met Hermione when she was fourteen," Sirius told him, thinking about how she'd stood up to Moony in the Shrieking Shack, and how she'd shown up on the back of a hippogryph with Harry to save him.

"Did you always think that she was beautiful?" Arcturus countered. "Lysandra has got black hair, but she still looks like a little tiny doll. I hate her." He crossed his arms petulantly.

Sirius smiled. "Well, aside from the fact that it would be weird for a 33 year old man to find a fourteen-year-old beautiful, she wasn't the prettiest teenager. She had teeth too large for her face, her hair was so bushy and she was very gangly," Sirius told the boy honestly, trying to comfort him. "But she's grown into her looks. I am sure that Lysandra will as well."

"Did you and Hermione always get along?" Phineas Nigellus asked, curiously.

"Oh, of course not! We used to fight quite a lot about this, that and the other. I am somewhat of a practical joker, and she doesn't really approve. Honestly, I still like to pick fights with her, just to see her angry. She really comes alive then," he said with a fond smile on his face.

Arcturus looked at him slyly. "When did you know that you were in love with Hermione?" he questioned.

Sirius smiled and without realizing it, he was already revealing his feelings to the two men. "It wasn't until earlier this year. I watched her playing with one of my cousin's children. He's just a toddler. Anyway, it just made me realize…I want that with her. A family." Suddenly aware of his surroundings again, Sirius quickly tried to backtrack. "But, I just don't know…I don't want to trap her into a marriage that she doesn't want."

"Who wouldn't want to marry into the Black family?" Phineas Nigellus asked him with a sneer. He couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't want a part of such a prodigious family. He himself had the offers of over ten houses, before his parents had decided on Miss Ursula Flint. "In any case, isn't that why you gave her the ring?"

"What do you mean, isn't that why I gave her the ring?" Sirius asked, perplexed.

Phineas Nigellus shook his head at his descendent. "Did you pay attention to anything in your family lessons? Or do they just not teach you our ways any longer?" he sneered.

Sirius frowned. "It must be the latter. If I'd learned something about that ring, I would have remembered it…mother was a very difficult task master. All I know about it is that you had it specially commissioned for Ursula," Sirius said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Phineas Nigellus nodded in approval hearing about Walburga, which had Sirius suppressing a shiver. "Well, that much is true, but didn't you ever wonder why I commissioned such a piece, when there are plenty of suitable rings within the Black vaults?" When Sirius shrugged, Phineas Nigellus continued on. "I got it to prove my love to her. Through our years of courtship, we had both grown fond of one another, and it was a way to prove our love to each other."

Sirius didn't seem to get what Phineas Nigellus was saying, so Arcturus decided to help the two men out. "The ring can only be given to someone who you love and it can only be received by someone who loves you. If either one of you didn't love the other, you would have received quite the nasty shock," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Sirius's eyes widened. "So…Hermione, she loves me?" he asked, unable to believe the words coming out of his own mouth.

"Don't tell me you didn't know that already?" Arcturus practically bellowed. "You guys are so obvious together, how could you not know?"

Sirius just sat there, thinking of all the times that he and Hermione had spent together. Could it possibly be that she felt for him the same that he felt for her? Yes, he supposed that it was possible.

"No wonder the house decided to send you back," Phineas Nigellus tittered. "You would have been married for years without knowing how the other felt otherwise."

"I need to talk to her!" Sirius said, jumping up from the couch he was seated on, and rushed down to the parlor. He'd wait for her there, so that he could talk to her right away when she returned from shopping.

* * *

Sirius didn't have to wait long before the three girls came back through the front door. Sirius stood quickly and came face to face with a bright eyed and rosy cheeked Hermione. She nearly took his breath away.

Ursula and Belvina shared a knowing grin.

"Ladies, if I might speak with Hermione alone for a moment that would be appreciated," he said. Sirius didn't even wait before ushering Hermione into the parlor and shutting the door behind them.

Both of them wanted to speak, but neither wanted to be the first to do it. Finally, gathering his Gryffindor courage, Sirius took a deep breath. "Hermione, I love you," Sirius said abruptly.

 _There_ , he'd just laid all his cards on the table.

Suddenly nervous, he felt the need to add a caveat to his pronouncement. "That is to say…only, if you are in love with me, too," he added. Realizing that sounded lame, he ran his hand over his face with a groan. He'd never been less suave in his life.

Hermione's face was transformed, although Sirius couldn't see it with his hand over his eyes. She felt that her heart might just burst from her chest. She was over the moon to hear that Sirius loved her back. She supposed the ring had worked perfectly. Grabbing his hand, Hermione pulled it away from his face, so that she could look into his brilliant gray eyes. "Sirius, I love you too," she told him shyly.

Sirius seemed momentarily stunned at her words. "Are you sure?" he questioned.

Hermione narrowed his eyes. "Of course I'm sure! Now are you just going to stand there after that declaration, or are you going to kiss me?" she asked.

Sirius grinned, before dipping his head to capture her lips. As soon as they met, Hermione opened her mouth, letting his tongue press into his mouth, desperate to explore him. It was nothing like she'd imagined, slipping against him in a sweet haze. Finally, with dizzy heads, the pair of them separated, grinning like fools at one another.

"Shall we sit on the couch?" Sirius asked, leading her over to a little loveseat by the window. Hermione sat as close to him as she could without sitting on top of him. Unwilling to be separated from him for so long, Hermione lunged, her lips landing on his again, and pressing him against the arm of the couch.

Sirius obliged for a moment, before gently pressing her back. Panting, he cleared his head, before he began to talk. "Hermione, we should talk. As much as I want you, and I want a family with you…I don't want to trap you into a binding that you don't want," he said, even though it pained him to think she might say no.

Hermione bit her lip. "You want a family, with me?" she asked quietly.

Sirius's heart automatically dropped. He should have known that he shouldn't have spoken so fast. "Yes. Whenever I see you with Teddy…" He let himself trail off.

Hermione smiled at him. "I want a family with you, too, Sirius. I know this is all happening so fast, but I just wanted…well, I don't mind doing the handfasting. It will give us a year together to date and sort things out. And then, if we want to…maybe next year we could get married for real. Or just perform another handfasting…or if you get sick of me, we could go our separate ways."

"I could never get sick of you," Sirius told her, before kissing her on the tip of her little nose. "Alright, so then…we'll go on with the handfasting tomorrow."

Hermione sighed, before pulling Sirius down on top of her on the couch. "I love you, Sirius."

* * *

The handfasting took place the next day in the library. Hermione had suggested it and Ursula had reluctantly agreed with the location. The older witch still decorated it beautifully with fresh white flowers and green fabric.

Although Hermione had never imagined being handfasted, she definitely hadn't ever dreamed that it would be happening in 1898 to Sirius, surrounded by his ancestors, who were supposed to all be awful individuals. The three boys wore black three-piece robes, while Belvina wore an emerald green dress. Cygnus helped his father prepare the ribbon that would bind Sirius and Hermione for the next year.

Phineas Nigellus performed the ceremony, tying their clasped hands together tightly, with a bit of silver ribbon. He spoke a few words before asking them to make promises of love, fidelity and friendship to one another. After, he performed a series of complex charms causing the bit of ribbon to disappear from their hands and reappear as two skinny bands of silver around each of their ring fingers.

Afterwards, the family congratulated them; Ursula especially reminded them of how blessed their union was sure to be, seeing as it was such an auspicious day. Then, they went to the dining room and joined the Black family in a huge feast, complete with champagne and treacle tart, which Hermione knew Sirius was partial to.

When the dishes were cleared, Sirius and Hermione were acting a bit awkward, wondering how soon they might slip upstairs to spend their binding night together. Luckily, Phineas Nigellus loudly announced to the table that the binding required consummation to be considered valid, giving Sirius a pointed look across the table. Although it left Hermione blushing, none of the children even tittered at the idea at the topic being discussed.

Grateful for the knowledge, Sirius politely thanked the family, before taking Hermione up the stairs to the guest room where he had been staying. Hermione was surprised to see that it was the same room that Sirius slept in currently, which made her feel a bit comforted. Sirius set about putting up silencing charms on the room. When he turned back around, Hermione was sitting patiently on the edge of the bed.

The white dress she was wearing suited her perfectly, and Sirius had found it difficult to keep his eyes off her all night. Still, he didn't want to push her into doing something she wasn't ready for. "We don't have to do this right now, if you don't want to."

Hermione was touched by how considerate Sirius was to her time and time again, but shook her head. "No, I want to do this with you," she told him honestly. _Godric_ , if only he knew how badly she wanted to do this with him. Her eyes looked like liquid passion in the dim light of the room.

"Well, in that case, as lovely as I find that dress, I would rather see you out of it," Sirius told her with a mischievous smile.

Hermione returned his smile before standing up and turning around, revealing the line of buttons that held the dress together. She pulled her long chestnut hair over one shoulder, revealing the long column of her neck. Sirius felt himself growing hard at the sight - and she wasn't even naked yet! Who knew that a neck could drive him wild?

Overcome with the need to touch her, he stepped closer until he could reach the many buttons and began undoing them one by one. His progress was painstakingly slow, but he kissed along the line of her spine as it was revealed to him, taking delight in the little moans she was making. Soon, Sirius was frustrated with his lack of progress. "Fucking buttons..." he whispered, before using a cutting spell to cut the dress open.

"Sirius!" Hermione admonished, turning around to face him. "I really liked that dress."

"What? It's not like you will be able bring it back with you," he countered. He grabbed the fabric at her shoulders, and pushed down, revealing inch after creamy inch of skin, until she was standing in just her knickers. Gooseflesh had erupted over her skin, and her nipples were hard little peaks, either from arousal or the cold, he wasn't sure. "Merlin, you are beautiful," he whispered.

Hermione smiled at him, but a rosy blush tinted her cheeks. Hermione never thought herself beautiful, always being a bit too skinny and gangly for her liking. "Shall we get you out of those robes?" she asked with a smirk, before deftly removing his jacket and undoing the buttons on his shirt.

Sirius just grinned down at her, removing his clothes. He watched as wonder fell over her face as his chest and torso was revealed to her eyes. Hermione watched in awe as the muscles bunched and relaxed under her fingers. She pushed the white shirt off of his shoulders, letting it fall on the ground.

Hermione paused when her fingers met the waistband of his trousers. She looked up at Sirius nervously, but he just grinned back down at her. Hermione let her eyes fall back to the trousers and she undid the buttons holding them up, letting them to drop to the floor with his shirt.

With Sirius as naked as she was, Hermione turned and climbed on to the middle of the bed, encouraging Sirius to come join her. Sirius didn't need to be asked twice, and he crawled across the bed towards Hermione until she was enveloped by him.

Sirius pressed his lips against hers, and Hermione immediately wrapped her arms around his shoulders, marveling at how broad he seemed. She pulled him towards her, sighing as his chest hair tickled against her nipples, making her body feel hot to the touch.

Taking advantage of her parted lips, Sirius deepened the kiss. Hearing her moan he allowed himself to press more fully against her. The feel of the heat of her core against his cock, even through two layers of fabric, had him groaning. Hermione couldn't stop herself from pressing back against him, desperate for friction.

Sirius roughly broke their kiss before trailing open mouth kisses down her neck and to one of her breasts, wrapping his lips around the tight, pink nipple. "Oh Sirius!" she cried. Hermione tangled her fingers into his wavy black hair, holding him to her body. With his hand, Sirius gave the other nipple a cheeky pinch, before soothing the flesh with feather light touches.

Hermione needed to feel more of him, so she reached for the band of his boxer briefs. Boldly, she shoved the fabric down until he was completely bare. Sirius released her nipple with a pop, before trailing more kisses down her stomach, using his fingers to pull her knickers down her shapely legs.

Sirius let his eyes settle on the small patch of hair on the top of her center, before dipping his head down to kiss her center. "Sirius!" Hermione exclaimed, trying to move away from him. "Please, you don't have to do that." Instead, Sirius gave her a grin and dropped an arm over her hips to keep her from squirming, before dropping his lips to her again.

Using his tongue, he swirled his tongue against the little pearl at the top of her sex once, twice, three times, before letting his tongue slip lower down to her opening. "You are so wet for me, love," he told her, without removing his eyes from the prize. Lapping against her clit again, he used one finger to enter her, thrusting it in time with his tongue.

The feel of her tightening around his finger and hearing her moan for more had Sirius so hard he thought he might burst just from thrusting against the sheets. He added a second finger and before he knew it, Hermione was coming apart rocking back against him.

He gave her a moment to recover before sliding up her body. When his cock nudged against her still sensitive flesh, Hermione's eyes shot open meeting his. Her pupils were so wide he could barely see the ring of brown around it.

Taking matters into her own hands, Hermione reached between their bodies to press his cock against her. "Please Sirius, I want you now," she asked, too overwhelmed to be embarrassed at her words.

"My pleasure," Sirius said before easing his way into her inch by inch, groaning at the perfect feeling. She felt better than anything he could have expected. Once he was certain she had adjusted to him, he pulled out before entering her again, both of them moaning at the sensation.

Finding a rhythm, they moved together back and forth, again and again. Hermione held onto him, wrapping her arms around his back. She couldn't stop moaning into his ear, feeling his breath against her neck. She was awash in sensation.

"So close," Sirius whispered, before bringing his hand in between them to tease her clit once again. With the added stimulation, Hermione quickly was sent over the edge into orgasmic bliss, bringing Sirius with her.

He thrust against her a few more times, before rolling off of her, pulling her into the crook of his arm, her face resting against his chest. "I love you," he told her, completely in awe that she was _his_ witch.

Hermione pressed her lips to his chest before answering. "I love you, too. So much." Before long, the pair of them were asleep in each other's arms.

And with them both in sleep's embrace, neither noticed when they were surrounded in blue light.


	4. Chapter 4

It was just before dawn when Hermione woke the next morning. She stretched her limbs over her head and relished the soreness in her thighs, remembering the incredible evening she'd shared with Sirius the night before.

Feeling her moving around, Sirius soon woke up as well, wrapping his arms around Hermione and giving her a brief kiss on the lips. "It's so early, let's sleep a few more hours," he whispered.

Hermione suppressed a giggle, before bringing logic to the situation. "Sirius, the rest of your family won't be up yet. Let's go down to the library and see if we can find the book, so maybe we can actually get back to our proper time," she suggested.

Although he sighed, Sirius knew it was a good idea. He stood up from the bed and summoned them a pair of robes, after replacing his boxer briefs. Seeing the scrap of white lace of Hermione's knickers, he kicked them under the bed, relishing the idea of Hermione being completely naked under her robes.

With a yawn, Sirius led her down the several flights of stairs to lead her to the library.

As soon as they opened the door, Sirius knew that something was different. The library was decorated just like it had been before they had left it in 1998. If Hermione wasn't holding his hand, he would have been sure everything they'd experienced was nothing more than a dream.

Before he could mention it to Hermione, the door burst open, and Harry entered, wand drawn. "Sirius! Hermione, you're back!" Harry exclaimed, happy to see them. The young man looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep in the few days that they were gone.

"How did you know we were here?" Hermione asked Harry curiously.

"Well, we put a charm on the library, so if anyone entered it, it would set off an alarm," he explained, only to quickly be distracted. Harry looked at his best friend with confusion, taking in her appearance, from her sleep tousled hair, to the red love bite on her neck, and the robe that she was wearing.

"Hermione... why are you wearing that? Were you attacked?" he asked, his voice teetering between concern and confusion. Then his eyes dipped to where Hermione and Sirius were joined by the hand. "And why are you…holding…hands…" Harry trailed off, before realization dawned on him. "Oh my god! You didn't, did you?"

"Did what?" Hermione asked, trying to seem innocent.

"You and Sirius had sex _with each other_ ," Harry hissed, barely louder than a whisper, as if speaking the words was willing the act into existence.

Hermione didn't know if she should be offended for herself or on Sirius's behalf, or for both of their sakes. Just when she was about to tell Harry it was none of his business, Sirius beat her to it. "Oh! That's not all we did! Come on," Sirius told Harry with a wide grin, before dragging Hermione out of the room.

In moments they were standing in front of the family tapestry. Harry had paid someone to repair Sirius's face on the canvas after they'd thought he'd died. Now, his face was connected with one Miss Hermione Granger, although their linkage wasn't as strong as the others. Likely because they were only handfasted, Hermione mused.

Seeing Hermione's silly grin when looking at the tapestry had Harry screaming. "Hermione! How could you do something so irresponsible?" he asked. Harry shoved Sirius against the shoulder, causing the pair of them to separate. "And you? You should know better! If you even for a minute manipulated Hermione into doing something she didn't want to do…" he threatened.

All of the commotion had Ginny and Ron running down the stairs as well. Ron was clearly still half asleep, when he asked, "Oi! What's all the racket?" he asked.

"The racket?" Harry seethed. "The racket is that Hermione and Sirius got married!"

That had Ron blustering mad and so Hermione decided that she needed to take control of the situation. "Everyone, be quiet! Now, let's all move to the parlor to have a little tea, and discuss this like the adults that we are," she insisted. Hermione didn't wait for anyone, but moved to the kitchen to put the kettle on.

When everyone else was assembled, Hermione brought in the tea and poured everyone a cup. She could feel Ron's eyes on her and she suddenly wished that she had gotten dressed before deciding to traipse around Grimmauld Place. "Hermione…are you naked under that?" he asked her, in his usual uncouth manner.

"I am not going to answer that question," Hermione said crossly, taking her seat next to Sirius. "Now, Sirius and I didn't get married technically, but we were handfasted for one year and a day. If everything goes well in the following year, we will…go from there," Hermione told them, not looking at Sirius.

"Hermione, I know he gave you the ring, but it was just a practical joke. I don't want you to get hurt," Harry told her, looking concerned.

Hermione smiled. "I know that Harry, but we were sent back to 1898, and we met with the original owner of the ring, Ursula Black. It has special charms in it so that it can only be given to someone you love, and it can only be worn if you love the giver back," she said, before rewarding Sirius with a secret smile.

Harry looked dumbfounded for a moment, but then the wheels in his head started turning. "So wait, you love Sirius…and Sirius loves you?" he asked, truly surprised.

"Yes, that is true," Sirius answered for them, letting his hand rest on top of Hermione's to give her support and comfort.

"But then, why did you have to get married?" Ron demanded. He was clearly the angriest in the situation.

"Wait a minute…have the two of you been carrying on behind our backs this whole time?" Harry asked the pair, pointedly.

Hermione shook her head no. "No, neither one of us had told the other about our feelings until yesterday, actually. But I know that I love Sirius and so that's why I went along with the handfasting. It's not permanent…not yet anyways," she tried to answer as calmly as she could.

"We got married, because my paterfamilias demanded it," Sirius told them quietly. "But I am kind of glad he did, because otherwise, I don't think I would have ever been able to tell Hermione how I really feel." Sirius let his love show on his face.

"Wait a minute!" Ginny finally shouted. "Am I the only one that's going to ask how you were sent back a century and then returned a few days later?"

Sirius paused for a moment. "Huh, I guess ol' Phineas was right." He said with a smile on his face. "He told me that Grimmauld Place is actually sentient. And that the house must have sent us back. I guess it just gave us a push in the right direction."

"A push?" Harry asked. "More like a push off a cliff! It didn't send you back until you were bound together." Harry took a sigh, before turning to look Hermione in the eyes. "Is this really what you want?"

Hermione just nodded. "I am very excited to see where things go," she told her three closest friends. "You don't mind?" she asked tentatively, almost afraid of their response.

"Of course I don't mind. I mean, it will be a little odd, but, I think I can live with my best friend being happy," Harry told her.

"Ron?" Hermione asked. Her other friend had been really quiet through the whole discussion.

"Well…I don't like it one bit," Ron said, looking at Sirius with mistrustful eyes. "But…I guess, if he makes you happy, Hermione."

Hermione was so happy, she quickly stood and hugged all three of them, before giving them a sly smirk. "Well, now that that's taken care of, I am going to go put some knickers on."

* * *

Hermione and Sirius initially took their relationship slowly after the holidays. They announced their intentions to the rest of their friends, and while some people thought it odd – Molly Weasley included – everyone else seemed more than ready to accept the pair. Although no one would have picked the two of them to go together – they were such _opposites_ – they seemed to fit together wonderfully. The old adage of opposites attracting stood true. Still, no one questioned their love when they saw how hard Sirius could make Hermione laugh or how Sirius's smile would grow soft and true when he watched Hermione playing with Teddy.

At first, they started with dinners once a week, just the two of them, trying to get to know one another better. They mainly stuck to little Muggle pubs where they wouldn't be recognized by anyone they knew. Although their friends knew about their handfasting, they weren't ready to reveal it to the entire wizarding world. Sirius quickly learned that Hermione loved mashed potatoes and Hermione quickly learned that Sirius liked good proper ale.

The dates usually ended in a passionate tangle of tongues on the stairs of Grimmauld Place, more often than not caught by a distressed Harry or a smirking Ginny. These dates began happening in more and more frequency, and they began spending nearly every night of the week together. And then the dates began ending in passionate tumbles in the sheets. They quickly learned exactly what the other liked. It was a very pleasurable arrangement for both participants.

By Valentine's Day, Sirius had planned a romantic weekend getaway to Paris. Although he thought it was a little bit cliché, he planned day tours of all the museums – both Muggle and magic – that he thought Hermione might enjoy. At night, he planned slow walks along the Seine, holding hands and fabulous private dinners in their hotel room.

By March, Hermione was ready to ask Sirius if she could move into his room with him. Even when they weren't having great sex, she just enjoyed being held in his strong arms.

By May, Hermione and Sirius were ready to go public with their relationship. It was finally time for Harry and Ginny's wedding and the pair attended together as a couple. They spent the whole night dancing in each other's arms, ignoring the curious looks of Weasley relatives unknown. The next day, their relationship earned them a spot on the front page of the Daily Prophet, below the fold.

They began venturing out into the Wizarding world together once the cat was out of the bag and ignoring the questions thrown at them by paparazzi. Of course, there were terrible articles written about them. People thought that Hermione was a tart just looking for a piece of the Black Family inheritance or wanting to destroy one of the remaining pureblood families. Sirius was a cradle robber who used his prestige and money to trick Hermione into a relationship. Hermione and Sirius never bothered with the rumors.

By June, they began quietly making arrangements to get married.

For real this time.

By August, Walburga agreed to release the sticking spell that kept her portrait on the wall. Apparently seeing her only remaining heir and the scion of the Black Family cavorting around Grimmauld Place with a _Mudblood_ for a wife was just too much of a strain for her aged heart. She'd tried every insult she could think of, but once she realized that Hermione really wasn't going anywhere, she gave up. All the inhabitants of Grimmauld Place were happy with the arrangement.

Their relationship wasn't all perfect, though. They did have fights every now and again, mostly due to Hermione's need to be right _always_ and reluctance to admit when she was wrong or Sirius's penchant for fast motorbikes and his Black temper.

By Hermione's twenty-first birthday, they'd had one of their biggest fights. Sirius had spent a ridiculous amount of galleons on Hermione's birthday present - a set of first edition arithmancy books that were so rare they should be kept in a museum. Hermione didn't even want to think of all the good that amount of galleons could have done and she accused him of being frivolous and wasteful. Sirius accused her of being uptight and ungrateful. He was very hurt that his thoughtful gift wasn't well received.

But they couldn't stay mad at each other forever. By the end of the evening they'd already made up and spent the rest of the evening exploring what kind of naughty sex you could get up to in a library. Honestly, it ended up being a lot hotter than either of them could have ever imagined.

By November, Hermione accepted that she wasn't just late, she was pregnant.

It seemed that in their passionate encounter on her birthday, they'd forgotten about the contraception charm. Hermione had been nervous to tell Sirius, tears in her eyes at pushing something like this on him. Sirius took one look at her face and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her. When little tears began to leak from the corners of her eyes, he dutifully wiped them from her cheeks. And when she finally told him what it was that was upsetting her so much, he'd given her a wide grin and a shower of kisses all over her face.

"I wasn't lying when I said I wanted a family," he told her, unable to wipe the smile from his own face.

He dutifully attended her healer's appointments with her, excited to learn about their future child. They were waiting to see what the gender was, but Sirius had good money on it being a boy. He held her hair back when she got sick in the mornings and always made sure to have the fruits she loved around the house. At night he would rub the palm of his hand over the nearly non-existent bump of Hermione's stomach and whisper all the things he was looking forward to doing with the child.

By December, all of their friends and family assembled into the library at Grimmauld Place. It had worked so beautifully before, Hermione couldn't imagine getting married anywhere else. Even with the slight expansion charms on the room, it was a much tighter fit this time. The room was decorated again in white flowers and green fabric. Harry and Ginny stood as witnesses to the happy couple and Kingsley Shacklebolt – Minister of Magic – performed the binding.

Hermione wore a loose fitting white dress that was actually very similar to the one that she'd worn before. She was self-conscious about her swelling body, and didn't want anyone to realize that she was pregnant.

But, when she entered the library, she and Sirius locked eyes and everything else, all the insecurities and people and noise, seemed to fade away until it was only them left. When Kingsley began the soul bonding, Hermione was both surprised and pleased to feel Sirius's magic playfully teasing her's. It was later commented that it was one of the strongest bonds that Kingsley had ever performed.

Afterwards, they enjoyed a large meal, cake and dancing with their friends. Harry and Ron each took her for a turn around the dance floor, telling her how happy they were that she was happy. She even picked Teddy Lupin up and danced around the room with him, the little boy giggling and his hair color flickering between dark brown and aqua blue.

After many hours of well-mannered frivolity, as Minerva McGonagall would call it, they had one last stop before they could go and enjoy their honeymoon together. Headmistress McGonagall had given them permission to return to Hogwarts; after one short Floo trip, they stood in front of the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black.

"Hello ol' Phineas," Sirius told the older man, giving him a cheeky grin.

"Young Sirius and Hermione," the wizard answered, his eyes narrowed at the pair.

"We just got married for real," Sirius told the portrait proudly. "You are looking at the newest member of house Black. And…she's a Muggleborn."

Phineas Nigellus hissed at the word. "I knew it! I knew it all these years that you weren't who you said you were," he accused. His vitriol was mainly aimed at Hermione.

"But you were there in my bag the whole time that we were on the run. You knew I was Muggleborn that whole time. Why didn't you say anything?" Hermione asked curiously.

"I had hoped that time had corrected itself. That such an act wasn't possible," Phineas Nigellus scoffed. "After all, would you have believed _me_ if I told you that you would be transported back to 1898 and marry Sirius Black, a man that I believed to be dead."

"No, I don't suppose I would have," Hermione admitted to the portrait and to Sirius.

"In any case, I hoped that if I didn't say anything it wouldn't come true. I thought, perhaps if I said something, it would be the impetus that would send you back to sully my family, you filthy Muggle," Phineas Nigellus spat at her.

Hermione wasn't bothered in the least. She just smiled up at the portrait. "Well, I am glad that we got sent back to you. If _you_ hadn't ordered us to get handfasted, then I probably would never have told Sirius how much I love him," she told him with a cheeky grin.

"And I never would have approached Hermione," Sirius added.

"I can't believe you would do this to your family," the portrait finally told Sirius, with an annoyed look on his face.

Sirius just frowned. "You made the ring…so you know that we love each other, otherwise it wouldn't have worked," Sirius argued, wrapping his arm around Hermione's shoulders. "Why is it hard to accept that I am with the woman I love, when you had the same thing?"

The portrait didn't respond, but the couple wasn't expecting to get Phineas Nigellus's approval. Hermione sighed. "Well, we are happy together, and that's what's important."

Sirius dropped the hand on Hermione's shoulders and placed it on her waist instead. "Oh, there's just one more thing, Phineas Nigellus. Hermione and I are going to have a baby. It's due Walpurgis Night. A most auspicious occasion don't you think?" he teased.

Phineas's eyes widened in surprise, but he still didn't acknowledge the statement. "We have a few names in mind," Hermione said with a smile.

"Yeah, and Phineas is really high up on the boy's list," Sirius told the portrait with a wink.

That certainly got Phineas Nigellus's attention. While he was blustering away about the outrage of such an event, Hermione and Sirius just giggled, before heading towards the Floo.

"Well, Mrs. Black – _Merlin_ , I've been waiting a long time to say that – would you like to head to our honeymoon destination?" Sirius asked, slowly guiding her towards the Headmistress's desk where their international portkey was waiting.

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "Are you finally going to tell me where we are headed?" she asked.

Sirius just gave her one of those infuriating smirks. "I guess you will just have to grab on and see where it takes us," he teased.

They both grabbed onto the old top hat and in an instant they were transported to a chalet in the Swiss Alps, very exclusive and very private. Once they were all alone, Sirius wasted no time in getting Hermione naked and on the bear skin rug in front of the fireplace. Sure, it was a little cliché, but it didn't stop the newlyweds from enjoying their first real night together as a married couple.

Once he'd kissed her into a tizzy, he guided her to lie back amongst the white fur, encouraging her to get onto her elbows and knees. With her back arched, his pretty wife was spread out in front of him, he could see every part of her, spread out for him like a feast, from the swell of her breast, to the slight swell of their child in her womb, to the gentle curve of her hips, to the wet pink of her sex.

He could hardly wait to be inside of her. He quickly dropped to his own knees, taking his place between her welcoming thighs, stroking his cock once or twice before lining up behind her, and entering her with a mutual moan. With his hands on her hips, he pulled her towards him, thrusting into her warm heat again and again.

With her legs wrapped around his waist, Sirius used one hand to caress her breast, pinching her nipples, to Hermione's delight. Feeling her fluttering and tightening around him, he moved his hand down her body to the little pearl at the top of her sex, rubbing in tight, circular motions, until she was crying out her release. Sirius found he couldn't hold out much longer, and with only a few more thrusts, he was emptying himself into her.

In the afterglow, he laid down next to her, pulling her body into the curve of his own, loving knowing that she was all his. "I love you, Mrs. Black," he whispered into her ear, unable to tamp down his more possessive urges now that she was _his_ forever.

Hermione shivered against him, his breath on her neck tickling her. "I love you too, Sirius. Now, you wore me out, let me go to sleep," she commanded. She could practically feel Sirius smirking behind her. He loved it when she bossed him about.

They spent all of January in the chalet together, leaving very rarely, instead content to spend their time together reading or playing in the snow or making love together on every available surface.

By May, their first child, a boy was born. Although Hermione was hoping for a Walpurgis Night baby, she would settle for a May Day child instead. She was certain that her child would grow up to be impressive no matter what day he was born on.

While they did toy with naming the child Phineas, they decided that it brought up too many negative connotations. By the same token, they completely turned their backs on giving their child a star name altogether. Sirius initially wanted to name the boy James, but decided he'd better leave it to Harry. In the end, they settled on Sirius's other best friend's name. Remus Harry Black was the apple of his parents' eyes with curly black hair and bright brown eyes.

They loved each other, much more than a little bit.


End file.
